Atul-da and the Blessing Packets

Atul-da was born on 26 December 1907. He was a lean man and all through his life susceptible to cold and asthma. He probably joined the ashram around 1951 and was posted on Ashram gate-duty. He left his earthly abode at the age of 77. Maybe he was in my care for about 4 years, from 1980 till 1984. He became weak to carry on the work of regular gate-duty, but he was never unhappy.

In the 1960s Champaklal-ji’s need for Blessing Packets was around 400 a month. But after the Mother left, the need in the ’80s shot up to 12000. Light-di was helping Champaklal-ji. Light-di was my mathematics teacher in 1957-58.

Champaklal-ji had two problems regarding Blessing Packets:

1) Once the Mother was asking for a Blessing Packet to give to someone and he just didn’t have any in stock!

2) The Mother was also complaining to him, “Who has made these Blessing Packets? They have not been made with a proper attitude; and thus are ineffective when I give to people.”

I don’t know whether you remember the story of BBH—Big Boys’ Home. You will also recollect that the Mother had passed a comment regarding us old boys, “These boys are selfish, they don’t make anything for me.” This remark of hers had obviously pinched me. So as I took more interest in making Blessings Packets, Champaklal-ji was very happy and he straightaway said, “the Mother has sent you to me and I am relieved.” Being an engineer passed out of our Centre of Education, I knew at once that making small 24000 thousand envelopes was a small scale industry work, so got small dies, hand-cutting machine and an embossing machine; we also had the Mother and Sri Aurobindo’s small-size photos printed in colour. We were now in business.

Now it struck to me, that if the Blessing Packets were made by senior sadhaks, then hopefully the second problem of the right attitude would also be solved. It could be an additional help to meet the requirement of 12,000/month. I was discouraged by several Ashramites who were doing the work. They said: “The Blessing Packets have got to be in perfect shape. The photos have to be stuck properly in the centre of the packets. And these old people with poor eyes and trembling hands will have difficulties regarding these strict conditions of perfection.”

However, I did not relent; after a lot of careful explanation and initial rejections, slowly Rani-di, Atul-da, Uma-ji, and few others picked up the job to satisfaction.

In fact, it became a passion for some of the senior sadhikas: Earlier they were ailing from physical problems due to old age and were constantly complaining. Now Rani-di and some others, in the middle of the night at 2 am would sit down to make Blessing Packets. Thus problems and worries turned into blessings in disguise,—an offering of their sincere work to the Mother!

Atul-da was given responsibility of our Good-Will Home Library. He also made Blessing Packets. He probably was fully conscious, like Gangadhar-ji, that his time had come. The last month of his sojourn on earth he was clearing everything from his room,—even smallest bits of old papers and personal letters.

Then one day he came and told me, “I have eleven Rupees in the Ashram Bank, I want to offer the sum to the Mother.”

I replied, “Atul-da, it is in Ashram Bank. Finally it will go to the Mother, isn’t it? Why worry then?”

He remained unconvinced, but he accepted.

Finally, on the last day in the morning, he was sitting in his chair and making Blessing Packets. He was feeling a little unwell. He asked the maid-servant to help him to go to the bath-room. The servant asked him to just wait for some time. She would clean Dhan-ben’s room and come back to help him. After a few minutes, when the she went to him, she had some doubt; she called me.

I saw to my utter disbelief; here was this Karmayogi sitting in the chair, making a Blessing Packet. In his hand there was a partly folded packet; his spectacles had fallen from his eyes over his hands. His soul had departed and flown from his earthly frame to the Mother.

Such sublime was the moment that, till day, I remember the scene with gratitude and feelings, with eyes wet!